ST. PAUL, Minn. – For the first time in 10 days, the 16
th-ranked University of Northwestern Volleyball team played in front of its home crowd. Northwestern took full advantage of the friendly confines, rolling to a sweep of Crown College in the Ericksen Center.
UNW was in control from the jump, surging out to a 6-1 lead in the opening set. A pair of
Hannah Rich (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) aces were part of another 6-1 spurt to put the Eagles in front, 13-4, then Northwestern went on to close the set on a 12-1 run to win, 25-6. The hosts got contributions from 12 different players in the set.
Crown got out to an early lead in the second set before the Eagles took advantage of some Polar errors and used an 8-0 run to take the lead. Crown had a run of its own in store, scoring four straight to pull within two at 14-12. The visitors hung tough, but UNW was able to pull away for a 25-17 win in set two, led by three
Miranda Wyatt (Manhattan, Mont./Manhattan Christian) kills and two each from
Ana Egge (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian),
Anna Olsen (Randolph, Minn./Randolph) and
Kiera Brown (Columbia Falls, Mont./Columbia Falls).
The Polars started the third set strongly as well, holding a 4-3 edge, but Northwestern was able to turn on the jets after that. A 7-0 run that featured two kills apiece from Egge and Olsen put the Eagles in front, 10-4, and a 7-1 charge closed out the set with a 25-9 final score. Olsen and Schmidt notched four kills in the set, with Egge and
Makenzie Anderstrom (Hudson, Wis./New Life Academy) adding three each.
It was a balanced effort offensively on Tuesday night for the Eagles, as 15 players saw action. Egge and Wyatt led the way with eight kills each, and the latter led the team (and game) in blocks with two. Schmidt and Olsen each tallied seven kills, and Brown five. As a team, Northwestern hit an impressive .337, led by Wyatt's .533 and Brown's .455 (of those who played multiple sets).
Addeson Jenniges (Walnut Grove, Minn./Westbrook-Walnut Grove) led the team in both digs (13) and assists (21), while
Grace Strickfaden (Norwood-Young America, Minn./NYA) finished second in both categories with 10 and 12, respectively. Rich's two aces were a game-high as well.
No. 16 UNW will be back on the road Friday for a date with Saint Benedict at 7:00 PM.
